The 3rd WeOpenGov Forum, which took place on March 5, 2025 at the "Rigas Fereos" hall of the War Museum in Athens, was successfully completed. The event brought together representatives of public administration, civil society, the academic community and the private sector, with the aim of promoting Open Government in our country.
The event began with greetings from important personalities in the field, such as Mr. Demosthenes Anagnostopoulos, Secretary General of Information Systems & Digital Governance of the Ministry of Digital Governance, Mr. Manolis Velegrakis, President of the Municipal Council of the Municipality of Athens and Mr. Thodoros Karounos, Member of the Board of Directors of GFOSS.
The Forum included four main sections:
- The role of municipalities in co-shaping multi-stakeholder actions, where the contribution of local government to enhancing citizen participation was discussed, as well as the importance of open governance in addressing the various and serious challenges in the broader social and political environment.
- The future of Open Governance in Greece, with speakers from the university community and legal science highlighting the challenges and prospects of the sector.
- Proposals for open governance, where several important initiatives have been launched by civil society organizations.
- Cooperation between Public Bodies and Civil Society Organizations, where successful examples of synergy and innovative initiatives were presented.
Throughout the forum, there were references to both the country’s participation in OGP and the participation of the Municipality of Athens in OGP Local. OGP Local is a global initiative that aims to promote transparency, accountability and citizen participation at the local level. Since April 2024, the Municipality of Athens has been the first and only municipality in Greece to join this partnership. Thus, it is currently in the process of co-forming its action plan, which it is expected to submit to the OGP Local committee at the end of July. To this end, according to information shared during the forum, the Municipality of Athens plans to immediately conduct a relevant online consultation as well as organize an event where it will co-formulate the commitments of its action plan with civil society. Some indicative examples of commitments that have begun to be discussed and were briefly mentioned during the forum are the institutionalization of participatory planning and budgeting, as well as universal accessibility at the physical and digital level.
At the closing of the Forum, the Open Government Award was presented to the Municipality of Athens for its participation in OGP Local and its initiatives in enhancing transparency and inclusion. The award was received on behalf of the Municipality by Mr. Nikolaos Laliotis, President of "Athens 984" and Executive Advisor for Volunteerism and Civic Society of the Municipality of Athens, confirming the city's commitment to transparency, inclusion and innovation.
The 3rd WeOpenGov Forum highlighted the importance of collaboration between public bodies, academic institutions and civil society for the development and deepening of Open Government in Greece. The discussions concluded with the need to formulate more participatory policies, utilize digital tools and enhance transparency at all levels of administration. The event closed with a commitment by participants to continue efforts to disseminate good practices and improve citizens' accessibility to public administration.